Why does everyone hate teachers?

[Countdown]

deadslow said:

Under-performing and over-paid. Young job applicants cannot read. write, or count. Well done, pay rise all round.

Whilst the teachers are at least partly responsible it makes you wonder what the parents have been doing for the previous 11 years.

[Lefty]

I think that in primary school especially it's because that for every diligent, caring and enthusiastic teacher there are two or three who are in it purely for the lifestyle.

And, certainly when I was at high school and university there was definitely an element of "If you can't do, teach." Some of my Uni lecturers would have struggled in the world I'm in 11 years on.

[Riley Blue]

The career teachers I've met outside of an educational environment (that includes both my sisters, a brother in law, two nieces and a couple of friends) show a lack of ability to deal with the 'real' world i.e outside education. They've either been educated or have being educating since infants school and are the most clueless people I know when it comes to dealing with life's issues. And they're so boring! You'd think nothing else mattered apart from education, education, education.
I don't hate them for it, they're just plain dull.

[powerstroke]

Countdown said:

deadslow said:

Under-performing and over-paid. Young job applicants cannot read. write, or count. Well done, pay rise all round.

Whilst the teachers are at least partly responsible it makes you wonder what the parents have been doing for the previous 11 years.

Doing their best to raise self absorbed spoilt brats and undermining discipline
at schools by complaining if they dare to say anything nasty to their little angels..

Edited by powerstroke on Monday 24th September 07:47

[NoNeed]

Riley Blue said:

The career teachers I've met outside of an educational environment (that includes both my sisters, a brother in law, two nieces and a couple of friends) show a lack of ability to deal with the 'real' world i.e outside education. They've either been educated or have being educating since infants school and are the most clueless people I know when it comes to dealing with life's issues. And they're so boring! You'd think nothing else mattered apart from education, education, education.
I don't hate them for it, they're just plain dull.

I once had a boss that used to say "Those that can, do. Those that can't, teach."

[dave_s13]

Ray Luxury-Yacht said:

okgo said:

And ray luxury yacht, leaning the house at 8 and not back till half 6 is I would imagine the bare minimum for most London workers. It isn't a long day.

Agreed, it's not - I'm an ex London worker in senior management myself, so am acutely aware of the life-sapping hours required

Just trying to de-bunk the myth that teachers all do 6-hour days, is all

My Mrs is an assistant head at a large inner city secondary.

Leaves the house at 7.15, gets back about 6. One night a week this is later and the odd parents evening means not back until 8 or 9pm.

Then, without fail, after the kids are fed and in bed she'll be on the laptop working for another couple of hours.

She earns her money and if she didn't have the holidays would likely have a nervous breakdown. She deals with all the behavior issues and child protection stuff, amongst lots of other things, it's flucking hard work!

[Derek Smith]

nadger said:

Evening all
Just prior to turning in I was perusing the bbc website and came across this article
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-19683920
Now I have to be upfront and honest here, I am a teacher and as such was rather put out by the suggestion that my work should be judged by the time that I leave school each day. However the thing that I found most shocking about the whole article was the comments page. There are over a thousand comments on this article alone, and of the ones I've read (admittedly not many - takes away from valuable ph time!) it seems to be a 50/50 split amongst those condemning the idea (largely teachers) and those saying teachers have it easy/should stop moaning/get a real job etc etc.
Now I know that these responses often come from those people with an axe to grind, but the sheer number of responses makes me think that perhaps there is a genuine dislike for teachers in the uk now. If this is the case, I'd really appreciate it if people would explain it to me!
Thanks in advance,

I can't help you with why some people hate teachers, although I'd hesitate to base too many conclusions based on what these style of posters say, but I would like to put my point of view.

I left school some weeks ago now, at the age of 15, yet what I was taught has stayed with me all my life. Mr Howles taught me history with enthusiasm and excitement and I have had a fascination for the subject since then. I probably buy more than one history-based book on average a month

Further, what Mrs French taught in English still comes to mind whenever I sit behind a keyboard.

My four kids all speak of various teachers with respect and admiration, as well as fondness. My youngest skills in sport were identified at an early age by his history teacher and it is now his life.

I have the greatest respect for teachers as a whole. There are the dreadful ones of course, but then there are dreadful police, lawyers, journalists, etc, and this should not affect our respect for these jobs as a whole. But there are many who have made a positive difference to their charges' lives.

Thanks to Mr Howles, Mrs French and all the others and a big well done.

[Otispunkmeyer]

nadger said:

Yeah, fair cop! Shall I bring out the old excuses of 'I've got my marking' or the fact that we have to take the holidays at the most expensive times of the year! ;-)

It's only the most expensive time of year because you are a teacher and work at a school. Perhaps they should scrap the 6 weeks hols and spread it out a bit more or something? Then we wouldn't have so many people all trying to go on holiday at once.

Also I'm not so much a fan of guys who go right into teaching the moment they leave uni. Fair few of the people I know did this and I have to say a good handful of them seem to have done it as an I imaginative last resort. A sort of what can I do with myself now? I could teach I guess?!

Not really the best start IMO. Also straight out of uni, I'm not sure people have the right knowledge and experiences to teach some subjects. Primary school maths? Probably ok. Business and economics or sciences/design tech at secondary or a level? I'd like my teachers to have had some business or industry experience to draw on. In my experience these guys are the best teachers.

Edited by Otispunkmeyer on Monday 24th September 09:09

[Camlet]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

There is good and bad everywhere. I can only speak as I find. And the school I've got to know is incredible in an area of London that's very " challenging". As for (poor I assume) attitudes to white British women, that's really sad. For me, I'm a white middle aged British bloke with several silly cars and a job looking after thousands of people across Europe for a big global firm. So about as far as one can get from these kids. I created a year long programme which resulted in them having to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges. 120 15 year old kids in 10 teams delivered 10 cool presentations. They did all this in their own time and with school's full input and support. The school want to do the programme again this year. Like I said, I speak as I find. The kids have been great, their attitude towards me has been fun and engaging and the school has been imaginative and progressive. It would put many current fee paying schools to shame.

[Jasandjules]

I don't. But then one of my friends is now a teacher so I finally learned some truths about what actually happens etc..

[Gargamel]

It appears not everyone hates teachers, some do like them...


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19698726

30 year old maths teacher hmm.

All together now.

Don't stand so, Don't stand so..

[XCP]

I don't think everyone does.

[R11ysf]

nadger said:

Ha ha, busted! Lunchtime postings mainly tbh!
Seriously though, I'm not moaning about anything I don't think? I'm genuinely interested as to why attitudes towards teachers seem so deeply divided when in other countries (especially Scandinavia in my experience) seem to have a far more post prove attitude towards them.

Firstly, I don't think it is hate but I don't think the public has any sympathy for them especially when they moan and strike. Teachers knew exactly what the situation was when they got into it. Crap pay, annoying kids and the pay off is long holidays and a fairly good pension. That was the offer when you started so why moan about what you already knew?

From my point of I think the simple reason is the majority of people I know who were bright, got good degrees and were hard working looked straight past teaching and went to the private sector. The majority of people I know who were less smart, got lower degrees and less hard working headed to the public sector and particularly teaching.

There are notable exceptions though. I have one friend who is very smart (2:1 red brick uni), tri-lingual and exceptionally organised - like anally!! I told him, without a hint of disrespect, that he should become a PA to a highflying CEO. He can plan and run things to clockwork and speaking 3 languages fluently, and able to converse in another couple, he would have been perfect. He went to teach at a minor public school instead. After his first year he was head of his language and after 2 was head of department. He was adamant that most of the teachers there, some 20 or 30 years his senior, were lazy, useless and not worth employing - and this in a school that is £18k a year!

This showed me that when intelligent, hard working individuals enter teaching they really show up the calibre of people already there. He also says that now he's 4 years in to the job he has 1/10th of the lesson planning time that he did 3 years ago as the syllabuses haven't changed that much and he still has his old lesson plans. Job jobbed.

Oh and he also enjoys the 19 weeks holiday a year, free ski holiday every year, free rugby tour each year and free football tour each year. Oh and the heavily subsidised house on school grounds for the first 4 years. Oh and the placement in New Zealand for a year this year. Oh and the free school meals every day.

I think the frustration with teachers is they actually have it pretty good, but as teaching tends to attract the people with less get up and go about them they find it easier to moan about it than leave the job if it's really that bad. The fact they choose to stay and moan says a lot.

[Digga]

Jasandjules said:

I don't. But then one of my friends is now a teacher so I finally learned some truths about what actually happens etc..

Yes. A straw poll of the number of actual teaching hours undertaking during 'working hours' can be very telling.

[Jasandjules]

Digga said:

Jasandjules said:

I don't. But then one of my friends is now a teacher so I finally learned some truths about what actually happens etc..

Yes. A straw poll of the number of actual teaching hours undertaking during 'working hours' can be very telling.

And when in the course of some weeks, every single night she's up at 10pm working..........

[VinceFox]

I'm only doing this til my band takes off.

[Puggit]

nadger said:

the fact that we have to take the holidays at the most expensive times of the year! ;-)

You'll not get much sympathy from parents for that one

I'm fairly neutral on the subject, with family members who are teachers. My sister works so hard during term time that I never get to see her - and she refuses to look after our children at weekends as she has enough of kids during the week. She's the only close-by family member

[Oakey]

Lefty said:

And, certainly when I was at high school and university there was definitely an element of "If you can't do, teach." Some of my Uni lecturers would have struggled in the world I'm in 11 years on.

My ex-girlfriend is now a teacher, she's teaching Higher Education Photography. Never has the saying "those who can, do. Those who can't, teach" been more appropriate. About 6 years ago she decided she wanted to be a photographer doing gigs, concerts, bands, that sort of stuff. She did a college course in the evening, then jacked her job in to do a full time uni course by the end of which she admitted she was a terrible photographer. Seeing the piss poor job her lecturer was doing she decided she couldn't do any worse and this Summer that's just gone she graduated after doing a PGCE. She now has a job teaching HE Photography at the local college where I can only assume she's going to teach people how to use nothing but the 50mm lens to take photos that are out of focus. Not only that but she cheated her way through the college and Uni photography courses having other people do some of the coursework (like having to build a website, that sort of thing).

[IroningMan]

I wonder if the Scandinavian teaching unions are quite as party-politicised as the UK's? Much as I like to speak as I find, thirty or forty years of militant Marxism from the NUT does colour my view somewhat.

And why on earth do teachers feel hard done by at having to go on holiday outside of term-time? Did I miss the part where they said I can take my children out of school for a break whenever I like?

I'm firmly in the Armstong and Miller camp I'm afraid.

[otolith]

johnfm said:

It serves no useful purpose to anyone other than airlines, holiday companies and summer camps and childminders!

I have some wonderful childhood memories of the long summer holidays - don't you?